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A magnitude 8.8 quake has hit Chile, southwest of the Chilean capital Santiago. So far, sporadic reports are coming in from different sources about the quake. What can be ascertained is that at least 16 people have died as a result of the earthquake. Extensive damage to Central Chile – which is the most populated part of the country – is expected. As more news reports come in, the Associated Press reported that Chilean president Michele Bachelet has declared a ’state of catastrophe’ for three regions in Central Chile. The AP also adds:

7:00 AM (Tehran Time)

Iran is commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that changed the shape of the country and brought in an oppressive theocratic regime – headed by conservative Shi’ite clerics. The opposition Green Movement has planned massive protests for today throughout the country. I’ll be liveblogging the events starting in about two hours from now.

The only news coming in at this point is that Tehran and other parts of the country are currently under tight security by the police and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. People have not showed up yet because it is too early in the morning. Protesters should start coming out onto streets in a couple of hours. I will be updating and tweeting simultaneously as the protests happen through the day.

Theirs is a story much similar to Iran’s. A population subjugated to ill-planned economics, a strongman unwilling to leave power and a government ever more keen to restrict their right to freedom of speech.

As protests rocked Venezuela a week ago, news of the protest made its way out not only on the backs of the traditional mainstream media outlets, but also on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Photobucket and other websites once used for entertainment, killing time or just plain ole finding a date. The powerful role that social networking websites have continued to play for getting news out of Iran and organizing events in support of the Green Movement abroad seems to be slowly being harnessed for the Venezuelan students as well.

Live-blogging on news from on the ground in Haiti’s disaster from the mainstream media, underground media, blogosphere, Youtube, Twitter and other online resources. Please follow @JShahryar on Twitter for direct updates. For my liveblog on humanitarian efforts for Haiti abroad and how you can help check this liveblog post: http://www.dailyniteowl.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/01/14/live-blogging-haiti-earthquake-january-14/

Live-blogging on humanitarian efforts and financial help being secured for victims of Haiti’s disaster from the mainstream media, underground media, blogosphere, Youtube, Twitter and other online resources. Please follow @JShahryar on Twitter for direct updates. For my liveblog on news on the situation on the ground check this liveblog post: http://www.dailyniteowl.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/01/14/live-blogging-haiti-earthquake-january-14-news-from-on-the-ground/

Live-blogging updates on the situation in Haiti from the mainstream media, underground media, blogosphere, Youtube, Twitter and other online resources. Please follow @JShahryar on Twitter for direct updates.

One such piece was Will Heaven’s critique of the people on Twitter who have been active for the cause of Iran for almost 200 days now in a blog for the online edition of Britain’s Daily Telegraph under the headline, “Iran and Twitter: the fatal folly of the online revolutionaries”. Don’t get me wrong, he has freedom of speech on his side. But every now and then, I take the liberty to use the same right to point out fellow journalists for filling the internet with junk that is not only misrepresenting the truth, but also blatantly insults not only our intelligence, but also ourselves. I thought Will Heaven fits that bill quite neatly.

But while observers inside and outside the Iran are baffled by the claims of such a revolution, the Iranian government has some reasons to claim so. Not that any of those reasons are based on facts but because certain foreigners and Iranians outside the country not only know little about what is going on inside Iran, but are also giving the regime what it needs to prosecute peaceful protesters who demand nothing but their rights by making harmful claims.

When I joined the ‘Twitter Revolution’ more than six months ago, all I cared about was letting people know just what exactly was happening in Iran. I would not have joined had the mainstream media done their job of reporting the situation accurately and without bias. I really had not much of a stake personally in Iran. I am not Iranian. I have no family in Iran. I had not followed Iranian politics as intensely before. It wasn’t really my job to do anything either.

Mir Hossein Mousavi today released a new statement denouncing the regime’s brutal tactics against the Green Movement and outlined peaceful measures the government can take to calm the situation. While the statement is quite similar to other statements he has released in the past, several points on closer inspection stand out. The statement also shows Mousavi’s resolve and his continued willingness to finding a peaceful resolution to the current crisis.